LCY new terminal plans
Dec 21, 2018, 4:03 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2014
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LCY new terminal plans
Looks good but the publicity photos anyways do. I just hope they don't ruin the USP of pace, leaving my house 60 mins before push back is more important to me than some new shops. Feeling optimistic.
London City Airport terminal plans revealed in new images http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-46638680
Selected quotes:
Images of London City Airport's new 51,000 sq ft terminal have been released.
Two million more passengers per year will be able to use the airport from 2022, with 30,000 additional flights annually, the airport said.
The £500m expansion will include new shops and restaurants and will reflect "21st century London".
Chief executive Robert Sinclair said he was looking forward to a "bright future" for the east London airport.
The new terminal will provide four times the size of floor space compared to the current facility, which is 17,000 sq ft, Mr Sinclair said.
He added: "Through our transformation programme, we have a blank canvas and a great opportunity to provide our passengers with an airport experience that truly reflects modern London, the greatest city in the world."
London City Airport terminal plans revealed in new images http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-46638680
Selected quotes:
Images of London City Airport's new 51,000 sq ft terminal have been released.
Two million more passengers per year will be able to use the airport from 2022, with 30,000 additional flights annually, the airport said.
The £500m expansion will include new shops and restaurants and will reflect "21st century London".
Chief executive Robert Sinclair said he was looking forward to a "bright future" for the east London airport.
The new terminal will provide four times the size of floor space compared to the current facility, which is 17,000 sq ft, Mr Sinclair said.
He added: "Through our transformation programme, we have a blank canvas and a great opportunity to provide our passengers with an airport experience that truly reflects modern London, the greatest city in the world."
Dec 21, 2018, 4:09 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold, A3 *Gold
Posts: 887
It does look fantastic but - much much bigger and no lounges does not sound like a good combination. I'm happy to forego a lounge when the airport is so small I can almost turn up and fly straight away (although London travel doesn't always allow one to leave it as late as we'd like) but if it takes time to get through the airport and there is no lounge that could be an unwelcome development...
Dec 21, 2018, 4:14 am
#3
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,844
Head for Points covered this today too, though @Raffles notes that "(Impressively, looking at the details I was sent, it still won’t have any dedicated airline lounges!)".
This is a real shame, as a good quality lounge accessible to BA CityFlyer passengers there would be very handy. I realise City is generally targeted at business travellers who are able to minimise the time spent in the airport before flying, but a couple of factors mean I think that demographic may be expanding and a lounge would be helpful.
Firstly, there seem to be a lot more leisure flights these days. Secondly, with what seems to be an increased number of flights to all types of destinations, City is now quite convenient as an alternative LHR/LGW to people on north/east of London - and because many people arrive by public transport (with multiple connections), they have to leave additional time at the airport. In this situation, having a lounge would be nice.
This is a real shame, as a good quality lounge accessible to BA CityFlyer passengers there would be very handy. I realise City is generally targeted at business travellers who are able to minimise the time spent in the airport before flying, but a couple of factors mean I think that demographic may be expanding and a lounge would be helpful.
Firstly, there seem to be a lot more leisure flights these days. Secondly, with what seems to be an increased number of flights to all types of destinations, City is now quite convenient as an alternative LHR/LGW to people on north/east of London - and because many people arrive by public transport (with multiple connections), they have to leave additional time at the airport. In this situation, having a lounge would be nice.
Dec 21, 2018, 4:29 am
#4
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The people who run LCY appear to know what they are doing. I could very well see them as part of their consultations with the airlines on the expansion pans them being asked if they want lounge space and the airlines replying 'no' or the airlines being vocal enough to say 'how about space for a lounge?'
Equally they may well have approached the commercial operators offering space and they said 'no' as well.
Equally they may well have approached the commercial operators offering space and they said 'no' as well.
Dec 21, 2018, 4:32 am
#5
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Bigger doesn't necessarily mean slower - if you imagine the current terminal at LCY, if the areas to your left as you exit security were larger it would not affect the time to get to a gate. Even LHR T5 is, for the size of the terminal, quite efficient since there's a fairly straight path from security to gates.
A slower airport is caused by insufficient capacity to move without delay - through security, through passageways, through gate areas. LCY suffers from that at the moment - the security is noticeably slower than a few years ago due to queues, even if it's far more rapid than general security at almost any other airport.
A slower airport is caused by not having a direct, short-as-possible distance from entrance to checkin to security to gate. It's caused by not having security screening centrally in the airport and shops and restaurants to the side. It's caused by making people take detours past shops because extracting money is the priority, not rapid travel.
Lounges do not make the airport go faster. Lounges are a work-around for the airport being slow, and in particular for it being unpredictably slow so you have to build contigency time into your travel plan and if the checkin time is far in advance of the departure time so you have to wait. LCY currently is fast enough that you can arrive at the checkin deadline and not stop until you get to the gate where the flight is boarding.
In short, a slower airport is not caused by expansion of the terminal. It's caused by putting the needs of shops ahead of the needs of passengers - like Stansted. If LCY continues to put passengers first, this will all go fine.
A slower airport is caused by insufficient capacity to move without delay - through security, through passageways, through gate areas. LCY suffers from that at the moment - the security is noticeably slower than a few years ago due to queues, even if it's far more rapid than general security at almost any other airport.
A slower airport is caused by not having a direct, short-as-possible distance from entrance to checkin to security to gate. It's caused by not having security screening centrally in the airport and shops and restaurants to the side. It's caused by making people take detours past shops because extracting money is the priority, not rapid travel.
Lounges do not make the airport go faster. Lounges are a work-around for the airport being slow, and in particular for it being unpredictably slow so you have to build contigency time into your travel plan and if the checkin time is far in advance of the departure time so you have to wait. LCY currently is fast enough that you can arrive at the checkin deadline and not stop until you get to the gate where the flight is boarding.
In short, a slower airport is not caused by expansion of the terminal. It's caused by putting the needs of shops ahead of the needs of passengers - like Stansted. If LCY continues to put passengers first, this will all go fine.
Dec 21, 2018, 4:33 am
#6
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: London, Babylon-on-Thames
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Let’s see how big a hole Crossrail straight to Heathrow puts in all of this.
Also, for an airport of this size, a day off curfew to placate locals makes no sense anymore. London is a 24 hour city and the Sat-Sun closure is not fit for purpose anymore IMHO.
Also, for an airport of this size, a day off curfew to placate locals makes no sense anymore. London is a 24 hour city and the Sat-Sun closure is not fit for purpose anymore IMHO.
Dec 21, 2018, 4:34 am
#7
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Dec 21, 2018, 4:48 am
#8
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
I'm not sure I share in the fascination of having a BA lounge at LCY. Surveying the typical clientele at LCY on a BA flight, you will see many, many, many tags adorned so proudly to the hand baggage, which to me would mean that there would be more passengers in the lounge than outside of it. Is that really what you want? 
Dec 21, 2018, 5:01 am
#9
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Yet LCY management havn't asked for the planning restriction to be lifted and IIRC they have said they don't intend to ever ask for it to be lifted either. I think they rather like being good neighbours plus they get 24 hours once a week from Saturday lunchtime to Sunday Lunchtime to do all sorts of maintenance work in a clear run without passengers getting in the way.
Dec 21, 2018, 5:18 am
#10
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What crossrail might enable is the opportunity to transfer between LCY and LHR (or vice versa). I can't remember what the target journey time would be but that could make for an interesting opportunity for some travellers.
Dec 21, 2018, 5:27 am
#11
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My DLR journey is fast and easy enough that I'm overjoyed that the Liz Line doesn't stop there. Selfish? Yes but it works for me and will hopefully keep the airport relatively civilised. I don't need a lounge at LCY and don't see the fascination with it, it's not really what the airport's about.
I am optimistic that this is all going to be positive.
I live just under the take off path for westerly operations. The city jet RJ85s are quite noisy but won't last long, I'd be happy for operations to expand into the weekend but equally happy for the status quo. You don't move to East London for the peace and quiet!
I am optimistic that this is all going to be positive.
I live just under the take off path for westerly operations. The city jet RJ85s are quite noisy but won't last long, I'd be happy for operations to expand into the weekend but equally happy for the status quo. You don't move to East London for the peace and quiet!
Dec 21, 2018, 5:40 am
#12
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Those are nice news. I hope this will also increase the reliability of the airport, especially when there's snow involved. (They have two deicing machines, one of which is always broken or how did the story go?...)
I like how the area will be quadrupled while the passenger count will only be increased by 2 million, with the current 4-4.5 million using it per year. While a lounge would be nice, I could only see this make sense to BA, if at all. The airport is so tiny that I don't think a lounge is really needed at all.
Which reminds me of a tiny airport in Norway with about 8 flights a day and only two gates: The airport was so tiny, but the waiting area was so comftable that the whole experience felt very much like a lounge. While LCY is significantly bigger, it still has that tiny airport feeling that does make a lounge redundant.
I like how the area will be quadrupled while the passenger count will only be increased by 2 million, with the current 4-4.5 million using it per year. While a lounge would be nice, I could only see this make sense to BA, if at all. The airport is so tiny that I don't think a lounge is really needed at all.
Which reminds me of a tiny airport in Norway with about 8 flights a day and only two gates: The airport was so tiny, but the waiting area was so comftable that the whole experience felt very much like a lounge. While LCY is significantly bigger, it still has that tiny airport feeling that does make a lounge redundant.
Dec 21, 2018, 5:50 am
#14
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,844
A slower airport is caused by not having a direct, short-as-possible distance from entrance to checkin to security to gate... Lounges are a work-around for the airport being slow, and in particular for it being unpredictably slow so you have to build contigency time into your travel plan...
If LCY continues to put passengers first, this will all go fine.
If LCY continues to put passengers first, this will all go fine.
Dec 21, 2018, 5:53 am
#15
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold, A3 *Gold
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I guess I’m not the target market for LCY in that in N3 I live around an hour away by tube/dlr or weekday traffic. That means I need to allow a large buffer for delays and therefore arrive considerably more than an hour before the flight on most occasions. I therefore would need a lounge if I’m going to shift any flights over from Heathrow.
I get that larger does not have to mean it takes longer to get through the airport but It’s a shame that while expanding they are not making room for a facility that would make some of us more likely to use the airport...
I get that larger does not have to mean it takes longer to get through the airport but It’s a shame that while expanding they are not making room for a facility that would make some of us more likely to use the airport...